Shopping cart



Oct. 28, 1952 s G, BROTTMAN 2,615,726

SHOPPING CART Filed Feb. 7. 1947 Patented ct. 28, 1952 saiuel c;Buttman, Minneapoli s; Mining applicati@ February 7,1941; serial No.7274518" This ,invention relates togshopping carts n such aslarercustomarily used in large groceries and markets. y Y v g s Itis anobject of the' invention to provide a shopping cart-which is adaptedtocarry oneor more parcel receivingvbasketsa ther cart being adapted` forshopping aroundfthefstore "from, one part of `the store to another,whereinmeans is provided for safely'andy convenient holdingv a" smallchild on the cart while its. parent is shoppingrand for'jsupportngitintsuch amannerthat it will not interferewiththe; parcel carryingcapacity of the cart.v n g, I l n AAnother object vof the invention isto provide a shopping cart structure of relatively ysimple yet strongand attractive characteristics in combination with means forconveniently supporting'parf cel receivingbaskets or thelike. Y y .i AMore lspecifically it is an object ofjthe invention to provideanshopping carthavingfront and rear frame'units vwherein the frontframeunit includes afpair of laterally spaced members extending upwardlyand thence rearwardly to .connect with theuppl' portion of the rearframeunit and wherein said front frame members are further extendedrearwardly beyond the rear frame unit to providehandles by means ofwhichr the cart is pushed and steered, the handles also providing sidemembers or arms for a childs seat located on the rear frame member.

Still a further object of the provide means on a shopping cart for'facilitating the removal of heavily loaded lparcel baskets therefrom.y, l v

The above and other objects and advantages ofl theinvention followingdescription made'in connection `with thev accompanying drawings, whereinlikej-reference characters `refer to the same parts throughout theviews, and, in which: y l, Figure l is a front elevational view -of afcart embodying theinventon.;

Figure 2 is a side elevationalview showing the parcel receiving basketsin dotted lines;

Figure 3 is a rear elevational View;

Figure 4 is a top plan view; y

Figure 5 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view principallythrough the childs seat portion; and

Figure 6 is an enlarged transverse sectional view through one of therotary bearing elements mounted on the forward basket receivingsupports.

The frame of the device includes a pair of lower side members 1 and apair of front and invention is to j will more Afully ,appeary from` therear crossf members-.Sand l9. "Ihefront cross member Il-"nd'thcv forwardend of theside lmembers I are' connected adjacent the lower ends of apair of front frame uprightsl I0 whichas shown best in Figure 2, extendgenerally yerticallyfor some distancev and then curveupwardly andrearwardly to provide rearward extensions vI'I having handles I2thereon.n jThere `isqa generally ver- *tical rear frarln'eunitincludingy a pair of laterally spaced uprights vI3 which, as shown AinFigure 2, slant' forwardly as from their lower ends. The upperl endsofthe 4rear framejunit uprights I3 are connected to the rearwardextensions II of the forwardframe unit uprights I0. 'The front frameuprights IU are provided'with 'rollers I4 andthe rear jframe uprights I3are provided at their lower ends with rollers I5. These may be of anysuitable y n ping cart the rear rollers I5 would be of the caster typebutin the customary shop- Itsh'ould be noted that `practically alloftype.

the rear frame unit upright members I3lief-'forwardly of the rollers I5.c

, Ashort `distance above the lower frame side members ,'IA are laterallyspaced sidebars- I6 which extend between a' front cross member Il whiche'cnnects the front frame members I I0 "and a second cross member I8ywhich extends-between the rear rframe unit uprights I3. Afconventionalpbasket supporting grill I!A is suitably suspended between v'the barsI6. f

At the upper portionlof the cart there is alpair of laterally spaced'bars 20 whose rearends are connected Ato afcross'member. 2I extending.be-

ft'ween upper portions 'of the space'drearirame 35 fuprightsiIS Vandintermediate the ends of the-.bars

y oppositely disposed portions of members I0 at a point where they.begin to ex- 20 they/'arey connected by short elementsZIla to the,front frame tend' more .toward the rear.. The connections 20a are bestshown infFigure 4. A basket jsupporting gri1l22 similar to the grill I9is supported cross member` I1v and a cross member 23 which latter memberconnects the forward ends of the 'barsv 20 arerotatable sleeves24k. InFigure 6 the cross membery 23- which connects the' upper parallel bars20 is shown infsection with its rotary sleeves 24 loosely mountedthereon. Said rotary sleeves 24 assist in removing the parcel baskets 25indicated in dotted lines in Figure 2 since then either basket can haveits forward end pulled up on the rotary sleeve and the basket can thenbe slid out of its supporting grill I9 or22 even though it is relativelyheavily loaded.

Intermediate the ends of the rear frameunit .On'the 3 I3 is anothercross member 26 and extending rearwardly therefrom in a generallyhorizontal plane is a U-shaped auxiliary frame 21 which is braced bygenerally arcuate braces 28 extending from outwardly disposed portionsof the subframe 21 to the rear frame uprights I3 some distance below thecross member 26. A seat bottom 29 is suitably secured to the U-shapedhorizontal subframe 21 by means of nutted bolts 30. Extending upwardlyfrom the seat bottom 29 is a seat back 3| which is secured by nuttedbolts 32 to the cross member 2| above the cross member 26. The seatstructure includes a pair of side boards 33.

It should be noted that the seat bottom 21 lies approximatelysymmetrically above the rear rollers I5. The forward slanting of theupright rear frame unit members I3 shifts the weight of the seat and itsoccupant somewhat forwardly so that there is no tendency for a child tooverbalance the cart rearwardly when the baskets 25 are empty. This isan important safety feature in a device ofthis type where the user ofthe cart cannot always devote all of his attention to a child sitting inthe seat.

Attention is called to the rearward extension I I of the forward frameunit members I 0. These rearwardly extending portions of the forwardframe member I'not only serve as spaced handles by means of which thecart can be pushed and steered, but they serve as added protectionagainst the child falling sideways from the seat. Obviously, a suitablerestraining strap can be placed between the rear upper portions of theseat sides 33 to prevent the child from slipping out of the seat.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made inthe form, details, arrangement and proportions of the various partswithout departing from the scope of my invenrollers on their lower ends,a generally horizontal basket support carried by said frame, arearwardly facing seat fixedly connected to and supported rearwardlyfrom said rear frame unit above said rollers and below said basketsupport, and that portion of said rear frame unit to which said seat isconnected being disposed forwardly of the rollers on said rear frameunit.

2. In a shopping cart, a frame including upwardly extending front andrear units having rollers ontheir lower ends, a generally horizontalbasket support carried by said front and rear frame units and having amajor portion thereof disposed lengthwise above and between vthe rollersof said front and said rear frame units, said rear frame unit having aseat connecting portion above its rollers and forwardly of said lastnamed rollers, and a rearwardly facing seat fixedly connected byitsbottom to said seat connecting portion of said rear frame unit, saidseat having a back portiondisposed forward of a vertical line extendingthrough the rollers on said rear frame unit whereby the bulk of theweight aeisyzee 4 of a child carried upon said seat is brought to bearforwardly of said vertical line to preclude upsetting the cart.

3. In a shopping cart, a frame having upwardly extending front and rearframe units, a rearwardly facing seat fixedly mounted on and extendingrearwardly from said rear frame unit, laterally spaced portions of saidframe extending from the upper end portions of said front frame unitrearwardly to connect directly with laterally spaced end portions ofsaid rear frame unit and thence rearwardly of said rear frame unit atthe sides of said seat, the extreme rear ends of the rearwardlyextending frame portions providing handles.

4. In a shopping cart, a frame having upwardly extending front and rearframe units in noncrossing relationship, a seat fixedly mounted on andextending rearwardly from said rear frame unit, said front frame 'unithaving laterally spaced upper rearward end extensions connectingdirectly with and extending rearwardly beyond said rear frame unit, therearward end extensions of said front frame unit lying at the sides ofsaid seat to provide arms therefor, and the extreme rear ends of saidrear end extensions of said front frame unit providing handles.

5. In a shopping cart, a frame including upright front and rear units,rollers at opposite sides of lower ends thereof, a basket supportedgenerally horizontally by the upright front and rear units and having amajor portion thereof disposed lengthwise above andbetween the rollersof the said upright front and rear frame units, the upright rear frameunit having a seat-carrying portion disposed above its rollers and whichis wholly forwardly ofthe last mentioned rollers, and a seat xedlyconnectedv tothe seat-carrying portion of the upright rear frame unitrearwardly thereof, said seat having a back portion disposed forwardlyof a verticall line extending through axes of the rollers on the uprightrear frame unit whereby the bulk of thevweight of a child occupying theseat is caused to bear forwardly of the said vertical line and precludeupsetting of the car SAMUEL G.BROTTMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in` the le ofthis patent:

yUNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date D. 148,128 Brottman Dec. 23,1947 1,353,180 Preston et al Sept. 21, 1920 1,409,331 Bestimt Mar. 14,1922 2,181,892 Head Dec. 5, 1939 2,192,102 Pinto Feb. 27, 1940 2,234,358Schray Mar. 11, 1941 2,398,863 Sides Apr. 23, 1946 2,438,829 SkolniklMar. 30, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 480,939 Great BritainMar. 2, 1938

